Posts by humbled

54

Hello, I am new

by LillyC in

jw
friends

i am not a jehovah's witness but i am very interested, i have many questions and hope they can be answered here.. i do believe in god, privately.

i do say my prayers daily and do believe god helps me in countless ways.

but i don't go to any church.. i have always been impressed at how smart, polite and nice jehovah's witnesses are and i always make time to speak to them when they call at my door.

humbled

Hello, LillyC--glad you are looking before you leap!

The powerful introduction I had to the WT religion was at age 35 and married. Disillusioned with other churches their stand against war was impressive to me.

The certainty you speak of was definitely there. I learned as I was taken in and participated in the Theocratic Ministry that JWs are carefully groomed for their door-to-door ministry. They speak with one voice.

These things may seem less like deterents and more like attractive, well-conceived effects of people in God's Kingdom.

Read Jesus' words only--not the doctrines in even the epistles--Just Jesus. He said "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." There is none of that when you become a Jehovah'sWitness.

Research first--they do not allow that freedom once you are baptised.

Maeve in Arkansas

36

Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses Wisconsin and Midwest

by Watchtower-Free in

so who's from wisconsin and the midwest usa.

humbled

For 5 years from 1989-1994, just after I was baptised we lived in Jewell, Iowa between Ames and Webster City. Kingdom Hall in a cornfield. I was the only of the family a JW. Husband and 6 children. and another child 2 years later.(Ex-catholic too)

Scott (and Sarah) Schofner was the CO mostly. I liked them.

41

Discussion with some elders

by GoUnion in

hello everyone just wanted to relate a situation that occurred a few days ago.

so i have quit going to meetings for a few months now based on some issues i have with the explanations of current doctrines.

my wife is none too happy with this but over the last few months we have had some date nights and have tentitively agreed to disagree.

humbled

Ask yourself why you can talk to the elders about this stuff but they won't "allow" you to talk to your wife in the same way?

On a different tack, while they personally may be genial with you as you talk to them, they will have to talk to the CO about this. This is a forbidden quest you are on.

55

A medieval question for you, if you believe in god....

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

many ancient believers of god used cognition to 'think' their way from belief to atheism.

what initially seems a silly question to reason over, can actually destroy a whole theology.. here is a question made famous by 'saint' thomas aquinas, believers in a almighty god with unlimited ability, please have a think about this..... the omnipotence paradox:.

"could an omnipotent being create a stone so heavy that even he could not lift it?

humbled

This discussion has taken my wondering/wandering about the God question into a different conceptual space in the same way cofty's thread did...

The idea of a God who is omnipotent creates irresoluable problems for me. For that god to create so vast a universe and who puts creatures so frail as ourselves as the axis for the sucess or failure of it???? It is ridiculous.

The entire program of universal sovereignty is the stone too big for God to move.

Once god a is styled all-powerfull and all-loving that god is screwed.

Thomas Aquinas may have sensed that the God-theology he was teaching (he was a 13 century theologian, famous then, sanctified by Rome later) was being driven less by reason and truth than by fantasy. (See above^^^^ the problem of the Immaculate Conception.)

Really--If God could have solved the problem of original sin by doing a great job of creation in the first place there would not have been the anguish on earth caused by the Fall. It is not credible that Thomas, forced by papal pressure to fall in with the popular feast of Mary's Conception in St. Ann, didn't see that the only way to assure a clean human was for god to do a retrofit in the womb. Thomas had God clean up the mess in Mary before she was born and before she could think or will to sin.

WTF! (I believe) Thomas thought--If God did that for her then Jesus would not have to die for her sins because--- even if she had given birth to him--(which she hadn't yet because she born herself) she wouldn't have any inherited sin to die FOR.

So Thomas had to tinker with it. And he had it that Ann and Joachim(Mary's ma and pa) did the deed and for only the briefest interval Mary existed in need of redemption before God operated on her sose she'd be perfectly sinless......for ever and ever.

And so on.. and on...

Thomas must have wondered ('Cause I am now) If God had that power AND he had love AND he was all-knowng ---in equal measure--why didn't he retro fit the kids in Eve's womb after she had sinned. Or better yet--why didn't he do that good a job on Eve to begin with?

If God is all-powerful then he really is between a rock and a hard place.

Maeve

Can someone link Snare's thread to the Epic Thread? I don't know how.

10

Advice, TTATT or Bible

by Crazyguy in

i really starting to see the problems with the bible and it being influenced by other cultures, religions and also the fact that many of the books or letter were written after the fact or so called prophecy.

so i am wondering would it work better to try to wake my children to ttatt about the jw cult or work on destroying the bible and its credibility?

which do you think would work better??

humbled

Show the truth about the LIES of the WTBTS.

I didn't let go of God by following a leader.

Others knew the tools that I had dug my way out of the WT with had been put down too soon. They showed me how they still were needed. But it was not something I could have handle all at once. Be careful.

Good advice above^^^^^^.

27

So how many of us had guilt pangs because our WT was not highlighted?

by cultBgone in

jw
friends

we attended several different congregations in different states, and the one common thread among them all was...if you had your study article highlighted, you were a good jw.. honestly, how often did you cover over your magazine when the attendant walked by handing out copies to visitors?.

sheesh.

would anyone believe how weird this organization really is?.

humbled

It ticked me off that anyone cared! Highlighting was so grade-school easy to do!

And --YES--I hated to feel judged by the mic guy or a long-necked snoop.

If I had read and looked up stuff I got royally pissed if I grabbed the wrong(unmarked) WT and knew how ridiculously these concerns could creep up on you.

Kind of like having lunch in public with any of my fleshly brothers(NON-s). I felt I'd be judged if any JDubs saw me and didn't know my brother was not just some worldly guy.

SO-Glad-I'm-OUT!

Maeve

41

Circuit Overseer wakes up, packs his bags and leaves!

by Anony Mous in

i just heard this about a co i knew back in the day before he was even a co. he must be in his mid-late 40's now, my mother told me the story as she knows the family very well (the entire family has gone 'apostate' including several elders, circuit overseers and missionaries - this was an "example" family, always on the stage etc).. he wasn't 'feeling well' so he took time off from his co duties.

that week he packed his suitcase, told his wife he can't do it anymore and he's leaving, leaves her the car and the house and went to live in a small apartment, bought a small car and a week later got a decent job.. this was very recent so not everybody within the org has heard yet what happened..

humbled

I should apologize for my double post^^^^^ but all I can do is say HOORAH !!!!!! again.

41

Circuit Overseer wakes up, packs his bags and leaves!

by Anony Mous in

i just heard this about a co i knew back in the day before he was even a co. he must be in his mid-late 40's now, my mother told me the story as she knows the family very well (the entire family has gone 'apostate' including several elders, circuit overseers and missionaries - this was an "example" family, always on the stage etc).. he wasn't 'feeling well' so he took time off from his co duties.

that week he packed his suitcase, told his wife he can't do it anymore and he's leaving, leaves her the car and the house and went to live in a small apartment, bought a small car and a week later got a decent job.. this was very recent so not everybody within the org has heard yet what happened..

humbled

HurraH! I love It. He will hurt for a long time but not forever and ever.

OMG. Staying in the lie is to burn in a lake of fire.

41

Circuit Overseer wakes up, packs his bags and leaves!

by Anony Mous in

i just heard this about a co i knew back in the day before he was even a co. he must be in his mid-late 40's now, my mother told me the story as she knows the family very well (the entire family has gone 'apostate' including several elders, circuit overseers and missionaries - this was an "example" family, always on the stage etc).. he wasn't 'feeling well' so he took time off from his co duties.

that week he packed his suitcase, told his wife he can't do it anymore and he's leaving, leaves her the car and the house and went to live in a small apartment, bought a small car and a week later got a decent job.. this was very recent so not everybody within the org has heard yet what happened..

humbled

HurraH! I love It. He will hurt for a long time but not forever and ever.

OMG. Staying in the lie is to burn in a lake of fire.

126

This is my first post

by Make Lemonade in

i wanted to express appreciation to the members of this forum.

there are resources here that are deep.

like we heard from the stage, "what is your depth and breadth of bible knowledge?

humbled

Welcome! Great to have you on board! It is for many a refuge many of us thought we would never, ever go to.

Rest easy, friend. We can be a rowdy crowd, but we are careful of the injured that show up here.

Maeve